Your home for local combat sports!Covering the local MMA scene and more...2017-08-17T23:40:11Zhttp://www.fightfan.net/?feed=atomWordPressadminhttp://www.fightfan.net/?p=173112017-08-17T23:40:11Z2017-08-17T23:40:11Z

Thompson (13-2-1) is making his return to action following two fights against welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. While Thompson fought to a draw with Woodley in their first fight, he came up short in the rematch so now he’ll look to climb back into the title picture when he fights in November.

Prior to his two fights with Woodley, Thompson had won seven in a row including victories against Rory MacDonald, Johny Hendricks and current interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

Masvidal (32-12) has enjoyed new life since moving to 170 pounds after spending the majority of his career as a lightweight.

The American Top Team fighter has gone 3-1 in his past four fights including a devastating knockout against fan favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone with his only recent loss coming by way of split decision to former title contender Demian Maia.

Thompson vs. Masvidal is the latest fight headed to UFC 217, which will feature two title fights as Georges St-Pierre makes his long awaited return to action against middleweight champion Michael Bisping while Cody Garbrandt puts his bantamweight belt on the line against former teammate T.J. Dillashaw.

The Ohio native had asked for a fight on Nov. 4 and now he’ll face former teammate T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 217 inside Madison Square Garden in New York.

UFC officials announced the matchup on Thursday night.

Garbrandt had been campaigning to land the Nov. 4 card after a back injury prevented his return to action earlier this year when he was scheduled to meet Dillashaw in July.

With rehabilitation on his back nearly finished, Garbrandt had targeted November for his first title defense after defeating former champion Dominick Cruz last December to win the belt.

Dillashaw will get his first crack at Garbrandt and second shot at the title after reigning as bantamweight champion for two defenses between 2014 and 2015.

Dillashaw is very familiar with Garbrandt after the two fighters were teammate at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento for several years before he split from the gym to relocate to Colorado to work full time with coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig.

Now the former friends will face off on Nov. 4 with the bantamweight title up for grabs in one of the most highly anticipated fights of 2017.

Two new fights have been added to the upcoming UFC Fight Night card in Norfolk, Virginia on Nov. 11 including the return of Matt Brown as he faces “Ultimate Fighter” season one winner Diego Sanchez while Angela Hill takes on Nina Ansaroff.

The new fights were announced via “UFC Tonight” on Wednesday.

Brown (20-16) will return to action for the first time in nearly a year as he looks to re-establish himself in the welterweight division.

The Ohio native has gone just 1-5 in his past six fights, but that streak came after he won seven bouts in a row to climb up the welterweight rankings.

Sanchez (27-10) not only books his next fight, but also gets back to the welterweight division after spending several bouts at both lightweight and featherweight in the UFC.

Sanchez has bounced back and forth between wins and losses over his past six fights while remaining one of the most exciting competitors on the UFC roster.

In the women’s strawweight division, former Invicta FC champion Angela Hill (7-3) will look to build on her last win over Ashley Yoder when she takes on Nina Ansaroff (7-5), who picked up her first win in the UFC in January with a submission victory against Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger.

The two new fights will be added to a card headlined by former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis taking on Dustin Poirier in a battle at 155 pounds with the card airing live on FS1.

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Many questioned why Floyd Mayweather had his business partner, Leonard Ellerbe, petition the Nevada State Athletic Commission for smaller gloves for his boxing superfight with UFC champion Conor McGregor.

Although that is true, it’s also a fact that might backfire when the commission decides whether or not to approve 8-ounce gloves for the Mayweather vs. McGregor bout. The NSAC’s own rules state that their 154-pound bout requires 10-ounce gloves. Such rules were enacted for the safety of the fighters involved.

]]>adminhttp://www.fightfan.net/?p=173062017-08-16T11:19:58Z2017-08-16T11:19:58ZUFC president Dana White inked two more of his Tuesday Night Contender Series fighters to UFC contracts. After their submission wins in week 6 of the weekly web series, Grant Dawson and Charles Byrd earned their way to the big show.

“It’s a no brainer,” White said about signing the 23-year-old Dawson. “Dawson is an absolute beast. I was very impressed with him. He’s young, but his record is incredible. He absolutely dominated.”

Byrd (9-4) fought in week 1 of DWTNCS winning by arm-triangle choke in the first round but was not offered a UFC contract. He came back on Tuesday and scored another finish.

“I have a lot of respect for Charles for coming back and doing it again. I have a lot of respect for that. He’s in. I’m going to do it. I’m going to give him a shot,” said White. “The fact that he came right back again, dominated, and finished both fights. I respected that he wanted to do it again, so I’m going to give him a shot.”

(Courtesy of UFC)

Following his submission win over Bubba Wallace, Byrd stated that he felt like he needed a another finish to get White’s attention. He went out and did just that.

]]>adminhttp://www.fightfan.net/?p=173052017-08-15T17:13:58Z2017-08-15T17:13:58ZConor McGregor doesn’t plan on being one and done with the sport of boxing.

As the UFC lightweight champion embarks on the final days of preparation for his upcoming fight against Floyd Mayweather on Aug. 26, McGregor is already looking towards a future where he’s a two-sport athlete.

On the surface, it would appear that McGregor is crossing over into boxing for the opportunity to face Mayweather, but he promises that this move is anything but temporary because he plans on sticking around after this fight is over.

In fact, McGregor says he wants to pursue championships and title defenses in mixed martial arts and boxing as he moves forward with his career.

“I will contend in boxing belts going forward and I will contend in mixed martial arts belts going forward,” McGregor revealed while speaking with the media on Friday. “I will rule both with an iron fist. That’s where my mindset is.”

That might come as news to UFC president Dana White, who helped orchestrate McGregor’s crossover into boxing for the fight with Mayweather that will likely earn the Irishman a nine-figure payday.

Of course, McGregor is still the reigning champion at 155 pounds in the UFC — a title he won last November, but hasn’t defended yet — but he’s vowed to return to the Octagon by the end of 2017 to put that belt on the line.

If McGregor decides to box again regardless of the result of the fight with Mayweather, there would certainly be interest given his prolific star power and attraction across a global audience.

That being said, McGregor isn’t exactly sure who he’d end up fighting in another boxing match considering he stepped up to face the self-proclaimed “best ever” when he accepted a bout with Mayweather, who enters with a perfect 49-0 record.

“I’m facing the god of boxing at the moment,” McGregor commented. “This is supposedly the god of boxing and he could have stayed the god. He could have rode off 49-0.

Green (23-8) made his UFC debut in February 2013 riding a four-fight winning streak in the Strikeforce promotion. He won his first fights inside the Octagon, but is currently coming off three consecutive losses. He hopes to right the ship on short notice at UFC 216 on Oct. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Vannata (9-2) made his promotional debut in July 2016 as an undefeated fighter. He was defeated in his debut, but he earned a Fight of the Night bonus in the loss. He won his second Octagon appearance at UFC 206 in spectacular fashion. The 25-year-old finished John Makdessi by knockout after landing a wheel kick in the opening round. He earned a Performance of the Night bonus with the win.

Vannata suffered his second UFC loss in his last outing against David Teymur at UFC 209. The bout went the distance and the two were awarded Fight of the Night honors.

Trujillo (15-7, 1 NC) had a three-fight winning streak snapped in his last outing in February, losing to James Vick by submission. He’s had several fights booked over the last couple of years where he’s either had to pull out of fight or his opponent has.

Lightweight competitor Tae Hyun Bang has reportedly been indicted by the courts in South Korea on alleged charges of accepting a bribe to throw his 2015 fight in the UFC.

According to the Korea Herald, prosecutors indicted Bang after he was accused of accepting over $87,000 from brokers who attempted to set up the fixed fight at the UFC event held in South Korea. Bang then allegedly placed a $43,000 bet on Kuntz to win the fight.

The report states that Bang will go to trial without being placed into custody.

The Seoul Central District prosecutor’s office alleges that Bang accepted payment to throw his fight against Leo Kuntz but the later changed his mind before winning the bout by split decision.

Going into the event, Bang was listed as a slight favorite but then the odds shifted dramatically in favor of Kuntz winning the fight, which forced UFC officials to give the fighters a warning that any suspicious behavior would result in a full investigation into any possible fight fixing.

Prosecutors also indicted several of the brokers involved with attempting to fix the fight including mixed martial artist Dae-Won Kim.

The report also states that Bang is no longer under contract to the UFC, although he remains listed on the promotion’s website.

Bang hasn’t fought in the UFC since Sept. 2016 when he lost a unanimous decision to Nick Hein in his only bout after the alleged fight-fixing incident.

]]>adminhttp://www.fightfan.net/?p=173022017-08-14T23:11:25Z2017-08-14T23:11:25ZGeorges St-Pierre made his name in the mixed martial arts world by becoming the greatest UFC welterweight champion of all time.

He stepped away from the game at his peak, having last fought when he won a decision over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November of 2013. It will have been nearly four years since St-Pierre set foot in the Octagon when he challenges middleweight champion Michael Bisping on Nov. 4 at UFC 217 in New York.

Although his initial plans for a return didn’t necessarily include remaining at middleweight, St-Pierre on Monday revealed that if he defeats Bisping and captures the middleweight crown, his new UFC contract requires him to defend the belt in his next bout.

“I have a contract with UFC. They signed me for a few fights,” St-Pierre said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “I have to defend my title. It’s written in my contract. I have to defend my title if I win.”

If he defeats Bisping, St-Pierre not only has to defend the belt in his next fight, he already knows whom the opponent will be.

“I think it’s Whittaker gonna be the guy gonna I have the other fight when I beat Bisping. He’s gonna be the guy I’m gonna fight next,” St-Pierre was informed by UFC officials.

Like Conor McGregor, St-Pierre’s plans appear to be focused on big challenges and marquee fights that aren’t necessarily tied to chasing down belts and dominating divisions the way he did during his run as the promotion’s welterweight kingpin. The UFC, however, doesn’t want to allow him to hold up the middleweight title the way that McGregor has held up the featherweight and lightweight belts.

McGregor held the UFC featherweight title for a year before he captured the lightweight title. The promotion then forced him to relinquish the 145-pound belt. He has held the lightweight title for the better part of a year, while focusing on the birth of his first child and chasing down his dream fight with Floyd Mayweather.

St-Pierre, however, will have to face Whittaker next if he wins the belt, and readily admits that wasn’t in the initial blueprint for his return to the Octagon. But it’s something he’s resigned do dealing with in order to get the fight with Bisping.

“That wasn’t my initial plan, but I understand the UFC point of view. They want to protect their titles. They don’t want people to delay the defense of their title.”